Doctor's Note
by A Nonny Cat
Summary: An short Daniel-centred story set after Crystal Skull and before Nemesis so the content is probably fairly obvious. Daniel's feeling ill and is kept on base by Dr Fraiser whilst the rest of the team continue without him. Gentle Danny-whumping for those who like a bit of h/c with Daniel. If you enjoy it, then you might like my story Daniel's Nemesis which follows on from this.
1. Chapter 1

Jack poked his head round the door. Daniel looked up and grinned ruefully,

"So, what did I miss?" he asked lightly.

"The usual" Jack replied with a shrug. "Beautiful women, unfriendly natives who tried to kill us. Sam blew us up. Teal'c did his thing."

Daniel pulled a face. "Shame – I always enjoy an angry mob." Then added, "What did you do to make them angry?"

Jack ignored the insult. "Carter has … "he paused, looking for the right words "a bunch of old stuff for you."

Daniel cocked an eyebrow quizzically. "Could you be a tad more specific?"

"Really old stuff" Jack clarified. He looked pointedly at his teammate "How you doin'?"

"Fine" said Daniel tersely. "Really old what?"

"Artefacts and things" said Jack vaguely, waving his hands in an outlining motion. "She'll bring them down in a bit. He looked hard at Daniel. Sure you're ok? Fancy some dinner?"

Daniel shook his head. "Think I'll give it a miss. I'll wait for Sam." He stood up, wincing slightly at the movement and breathed carefully. Jack frowned.

"Stomach?"

"Still achy" Daniel admitted reluctantly, "but it's nothing." Jack continued to look at him sternly. "Really nothing".

Jack's eyes narrowed slightly but he didn't comment. For a moment Daniel considered joining Jack for dinner just to prove a point, but his common sense overruled his pride and he knew it would be a bad idea. Besides, he really wanted to see what Sam had brought back for him. It was frustrating being left behind. Especially when he knew for a fact that the planet contained the ruins of a lost civilization. He looked innocently back at Jack, weathering the stare. Eventually, Jack touched his forefinger to his brow in an informal salute and ducked out of the room.

Daniel took another careful breath and pressed the heel of his hand into his stomach trying to massage away the cramp. It didn't have much effect. Stretching hadn't helped either but he did it again anyway, trying to straighten out the tensing muscles. Twenty four hours of worsening on and off colicky pains were beginning to take their toll and he was fed up. He had started feeling crappy off-world on P7X-377 and his sense of social responsibility made him admit as much to Janet during the mandatory post-trip medical. He would have hated to be responsible for bringing back a space bug or worse, for taking earth germs to alien worlds. Unfortunately he was now confined to base - although so far he had managed to dissuade Janet from trapping him in the infirmary. At least he had caught up on some of his backlog of work. Another cramp low in his stomach caused him a sharp intake of breath and, with no one to watch him, he wrapped his arms around his middle and groaned softly. It wasn't a life-threatening injury or alien parasite (Janet had made sure of that) but it hurt worse than he was prepared to let on and the pain was making him feel slightly nauseous. Sighing he hunched back into his chair and tried to focus on translating the tiny ancient symbols on the scrap of stone in front of him. It did not help that the stone was so worn. He tipped the light trying to increase the shadow to make out the faded lines. Something about a flying sunken city? That made no sense. Daniel sighed again and then brightened as he heard familiar footsteps in the corridor. Sam appeared carefully carrying a large and obviously heavy cardboard box.

"Hiya Daniel, I brought you some souvenirs".

"A snowglobe and a 'wish you were here' T shirt?"

Sam grinned "No, although that's an idea. Actually, I think you will like this a bit better!" She looked at Daniel, her eyes sparkling and delved into the box with the air of a Santa at a children's party. "This I think is some type of astrolabe, this is an amulet of some form, some inscribed tablets..." She stacked the small objects in front of him before reaching her piece de resistance "and this…" she reached into the box with both hands and with difficulty withdrew a cylindrical object with carved symbols "this is a puzzle. It gives off EM radiation so I'm pretty sure that it is technological but I have absolutely no idea what it is. We've had it scanned and we are fairly sure it is safe but we don't know what it does. The symbols on the outside look a bit like ancient but - as far as I can tell - they are different. I'd like to have some idea of what they say before we try and open it."

She put it down on the bench carefully and Daniel squinted at it with interest carefully pivoting it around.

"You're right" he said

"Mm?"

"Not ancient… but…" he scooted up and went over to a pile of books in the corner and began rooting around in the heap muttering to himself. Sam, realising that this could take some time sat down upon the stool and glanced around the room, taking in the packet of tylenol and the discarded heat pad.

"Tummy any better?"

Daniel grunted – a grunt that could have meant either 'yes' or 'no' and continued pouring through the books, pausing every now and again to scan a page more closely. Sam watched him with affectionate amusement. Once Daniel had a mystery to solve any communication was difficult. She rested her elbow on the bench and cupped her cheek in her hand and settled down to wait.

Forty minutes later, with apparently no progress she gave up and headed upstairs to write her mission report.


	2. Chapter 2

'Mission Report P8X-112' Sam typed. She always liked to get the report done asap before she forgot the salient features. She thought back over the past twenty four hours.

Unlike most planets which had a stargate out in the open, P8X-122's stargate was hidden within a tight thicket of trees . The fact that it had not been used recently was evident from the now vaporised undergrowth that had grown across the wormhole only to be annihilated by SG-1's arrival. "Bit behind on the gardening" Jack noted surveying splintered stumps and the thick layer of brambles. "Come on kids – bush whacking time".

"This way" Sam called, squinting at the EM reader "at least I think it is, why can't they make the screens on these things bigger?"

Walking through the dense foliage was hard going. The planet seemed to be home to particularly tenacious plants that refused to snap if snagged on a boot. "We should send a botany team out here sir" Sam suggested as she paused yet again to unwind the tendrils from around her boot. "These plants seem to have a mind of their own."

"It is possible that they do indeed possess conscious thought Samantha Carter" interjected Teal'c.

Jack shot him a look "Thanks Teal'c" he retorted "Way to give me nightmares."

"Well it wouldn't be the first time we've come across sentient plant-like life" said Sam. She rummaged in her backpack and extracted the life signs detector. "They aren't registering on this though".

"Good news at last" replied Jack grumpily slashing at the undergrowth with his bush knife and succeeding only in blunting the blade. "Dang; these brambles are like steel cable."

After two hours of traveling (one hour walking, one untangling) they reached the outskirts of the ruined city. Despite the forest's attempts to reclaim it, the layout of the streets and buildings remained clear. Most of the walls still stood at least a couple of feet high and there were a few buildings that still had roofs. It was immediately apparent that the original inhabitants had left in a hurry and left a lot many of their possessions behind. Personal items were scattered across the floors.

"What I don't understand sir," said Sam "is why this stuff is still here. We know that there are other people living on the planet. From what we can tell their civilization lags behind that created by the people who built this. Why have they not looted the site?"

"It is indeed a mystery" agreed Teal'c.

Jack surveyed the scene with disinterest. "P'raps they aren't interested in other people's old junk" he offered kicking disinterestedly at something that appeared to be an old pair of scissors.

"But sir" Sam persisted "there might be books containing important scientific knowledge that could benefit them. Or even abandoned technology. The EM reader is picking up some sort of technological readings."

"Now you're talking!" replied Jack. "Spread out and let's go looting."

"It is a shame Daniel isn't here" Sam said "He would love this – it would keep him busy for days!"

"No Carter" Jack corrected "It is a very good thing he isn't here. We've got precisely twelve hours to sweep the place for anything of interest." "And by 'of interest' I mean 'of use'" he added.

Sam paused, stopped typing and smiled to herself at the difference between Jack and Daniel's view about what counted as 'interesting'. At least she had been able to bring Daniel back a good collection of bits and pieces. Plus, she had taken extensive pictures of the site, including lots of the inscriptions. Of course, it was always possible that they could go on a return trip to P8X-122, although the fact that they had faced a certain amount of hostility from the natives now meant that would be tricky. If Daniel had come with them, Sam mused, then it was quite likely that they would have departed on significantly better terms than they had done. But then Daniel would probably have advocated making contact with the indigenous people before raiding their ancient sites; Even if the site did appear abandoned. In fact, Daniel would have probably ensured that everyone ended up the best of friends, although there was always the risk that he might accidently get married along the way.

Despite – or perhaps because of - their differences, Daniel and Jack made a good team, even though they irritated the hell out of each other. Jack had been quick to spot that Daniel had not been feeling good after his encounter with the giant aliens, though he put it down to a side effect of the lepton radiation and dimension shifting. That was bound to turn anyone's stomach. Of course, thought Sam, all the angst with Nick Ballard probably hadn't helped either. She sighed. Daniel had been in the gateroom when they'd left and his frustration at being scratched from the mission was palpable. He had given Sam a long list of things to check and had cautioned her not to let Jack antagonise anyone they met. Sam realised she had probably failed on that count. Ruefully she turned back to her report.

"Over here sir" Carter shouted "I think I have got something!" Jack and Teal'c hastened over to her side and stared into a small room at the back of what had evidently once been an impressive municipal building. They all gazed at it.

"Well" said Jack at length breaking the silence "what is it?"

"No idea sir" Sam replied "It looks like it was once connected to that control panel over there, but the control crystal is entirely smashed. I might be able to patch my laptop in and run some diagnostics but it will take time."

Jack turned to the Jaffa "Teal'c?"

"I too am unfamiliar with such an object" Teal'c replied "But I would concur with Major Carter's analysis".

Jack poked at the grey metal with his foot. It had a definite weaponsy look to it. In fact, it looked a bit like a Gattling gun. The pivot mounting at the bottom had corroded into place and the thing no longer moved, but what appeared to be handles on the side reinforced the impression that it had once intended to be manoeuvrable.

"I wouldn't do that sir" Carter cautioned "we have no idea what it does yet."

While Teal'c completed a computerised survey of the site and Jack continued to explore, Sam painstakingly connected her laptop to the terminal and tried to improvise a coding that would enable the two devices to communicate. A glimmer of light flickered under the switches of the control panel with their unfamiliar symbols and then went off again. Sam muttered to herself and checked the connection. With a slight whirring the devise powered up instantly draining her computer of most of its power. She would have to work quickly. Sam straightened out, unkinking her joints and examined the glowing symbols. Dammit she needed Daniel! Without having at least some idea what they symbols might mean she was very reluctant to touch anything. She took out her camera and photographed every inch of the devise. Then she squatted over her lap top trying to copy the programming onto her hard drive. Row upon row of symbols and numbers flowed across the computer screen so fast that she was unable to make much sense of them. A sudden awareness of warmth to her left made her look up. It took her a moment to register what had changed but in an instant she was tearing her laptop free of the console and shouting to the others to find cover. Sam dived behind a pleasingly solid wall.

The bang sent a small army of shot skywards, each mini canon ball flying for yards before falling to earth, sending mud and rock flying. When the smoke had settled Jack examined the small crater and smoking remain with interest. "So that's what it does" he observed blandly.

"It appears to be highly unlikely that it will do it again" observed Teal'c.

"Sir, I'm so sorry" said Sam contritely "I should have been watching more carefully for power overloads. I think the power differential created an internal feedback loop inside the devise which must have overloaded the capacitors leading to a critical…"

Jack held up his hand with a long suffering expression on his face. "Major Carter are you telling me that you have blown up our super-powerful alien weapon find?"

"Yes" Sam admitted reluctantly "although I wouldn't really call it super-powerful, more of a local…" she stopped. "Sorry sir" she said again.

"That's ok" said Jack magnanimously "Just so as I know. No good crying over exploded alien super-weaponry".

"O'Neil" interjected Teal'c urgently "I believe that we are no longer undetected".

Jack shot Sam a look "The day gets better and better" he said. "Where's Daniel when you need him?" Stepping over the remains of the ex-super-powerful weapon Jack stepped forward to meet the group.

"I believe that their intentions are not friendly" Teal'c warned.

"Got that Teal'c" called back Jack "Gonna try and charm them".

Considering negotiations were not his strong point, Sam thought, Jack had done a pretty good job. First contacts were always tricky and first contact when you've just broken something important in a place where you should not be are always trickier still. It helped that the villagers did not seem to want to enter the city at all. They hung nervously around the edge looking cautiously about them. Jack's 'we come in peace' message seemed to be met with cautious acceptance, clearly a few explosions between friends were of little consequence. However, when Sam and Teal'c stepped forward out of the shadows the indigenous people reacted with fear. SG-1 were used to this. Teal'c still had an unmistakably Jaffa air about him and that, not unnaturally, concerned peoples who had seen Jaffa do unspeakable things. Daniel always managed to sooth and console at those moments. Jack's diplomatic skills were not up to the task. However, his military nose for trouble meant that he knew when to scrub a mission.

"Time to go folks" he called to Sam and Teal'c. "Teal'c radio stargate command and tell them we're returning early."

Sam had shoved her laptop back in her bag and grabbed as many loose artefacts as she could. She had discovered something else when she had thrown herself down behind the wall. Jack looked curiously at her as she stumbled towards the gate cradling it in her arms. "Whatcha got there?"

"Not sure" Sam panted in reply. "It is emitting EM radiation so I thought I'd bring it back to examine."

"Don't blow up the SGC" Jack said mildly "General Hammond would hate that".

Sam yawned and stopped typing. Report done she stretched and rubbed her back. Time for bed she thought. On her way she passed Daniel's lab, but it was all in darkness. Presumably he had decided to call it a day. Tomorrow SG-1 were all on base and there would be plenty of time then to examine the object further and try to determine what it actually did.


	3. Chapter 3

It was late by the time Jack set off to bed. He had enjoyed a good supper, a hot shower and an enjoyable game of cards. Heading back to his quarters he saw the glimmer of light from Daniel's room and knocked quietly. No answer. He opened the door a crack. Daniel sat at his desk totally absorbed and surrounded by books. The strange cylinder was on the table in from of him and Daniel was carefully transcribing symbols into a notebook. Jack coughed quietly and Daniel looked up with a start.

"What'ya got?" Jack asked.

"I'm still not sure" Daniel said slowly, stroking the cylinder absentmindedly. "The symbols look like ancient at first, but in actual fact they seem to work more like Germanic runes. But then the frequency of certain symbols and the common pairings suggest some form of inflected language…" He broke off when he saw Jack's pained expression and decided not to explain the interesting theory of translation via frequency analysis.

"It's still a puzzle" he summarised, deciding that Jack was in no mood for an explanation of the links between code-breaking and translation let alone the brief history of the cracking of linear B.

"You don't say" said Jack. There was a pause. "It's late" Jack added helpfully.

Daniel frowned slightly "I usually work late." He corrected himself "Always work late."

"Bed" Jack ordered. "I want my team fit – no bellyaches and no crazy space bugs."

"But Jack…" Daniel started with irritation, but then thought better of it. "Ok".

"Need anything?" asked Jack.

"No thank you" Daniel replied tersely. He didn't need mollycoddling and he was grumpy about the interruption. Working on the problem had taken all of his attention and he had felt a bit better for the last few hours. But jolted out of his studies he realised that he was exhausted, cold, uncomfortable and sleep was inviting. Folding up the books and placing his notes neatly on the desk he cautiously uncurled. Jack watched him.

"You look crappy" he observed.

"Thanks!" Daniel took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You'd make a great motivational speaker!"

Jack made no move to leave.

"Goodnight" Daniel said pointedly, waiting for him to go before getting up.

"Night" Jack replied (reluctantly, Daniel thought). "Be seeing ya".

Daniel's mind was still full of symbols as he undressed carefully and clambered into bed. He shivered. The sheets were cold. The aggressive cramps had died down a bit, but the continual nagging stomach ache was still there and wished that he had remembered to pick up the heat pad from his lab. He shifted, trying to find a comfortable position and burrowed his cheek into the pillow. There was another knock at the door and Daniel cursed silently under his breath as struggled out of bed, opened the door a crack peering out short-sightedly.

"Though you might want this" said Jack, holding out the pre-warmed pad.

"Er thanks" Daniel responded hesitantly both touched and irritated by Jack's intervention. "Um, sleep well". Shutting the door he shuffled back to bed and climbed back in. He tucked the heat pad into the waist band of his pyjamas and felt the achiness recede into the pool of warmth it created. Now he could fall asleep.

Some hours later Daniel awoke from a fitful sleep. The heat pad had gone cold and his stomach was cramping horribly. He curled up tightly one forearm pressed against his tummy and tried to go back to sleep. Nope; that wasn't going to happen. He squinted at the clock. 5:15, well that was almost morning. He got up painfully. He really wanted a long soak in a hot bath, but living inside a mountain meant that luxuries like bathtubs were a rarity. A shower would have to do. Daniel propped himself up on one arm and eased himself gently over in bed biting his lip against the wave of pain. He was almost ready to go back to Janet and get himself properly looked over. At the post-mission medical two days he had allowed her to do the minimum that would enable her to satisfy herself that he wasn't about to infect all his colleagues with something weird. She poked his stomach, noting the tenderness and took a vial of blood. The mass spectrometer confirmed that his blood had no new alien virus antibodies and his temperature was almost normal. Like Jack she assumed that it was probably a lingering effect of crossing dimensions and so she had let him leave under certain conditions; 1) he didn't go off base or 2) off world and 3) he would back immediately if he felt worse. He had followed the first two instructions. He might follow the third one later. If he went to Janet she might give him nice meds, but she also might decide that he should be in bed and Daniel wanted to be at General Hammond's meeting with the Tok'ra that afternoon. He had already reasoned that the Tok'Ra with their symbiots were at no risk of catching whatever he had, so he could go to the meeting with a clear conscience. He'd go to Janet after that if needs be.

The shower helped and fortified by painkillers Daniel felt a bit more human as he dressed and headed down to his lab.


	4. Chapter 4

Although it was only 6:30 in the morning Daniel found Sam already in his lab sitting at the table with the finds from Px8-112 laid out before her. Her computer was open and she seemed to be comparing the artefacts to a database of their previous discoveries. She looked up with an cheerful but apologetic smile as Daniel came in.

"Morning! I hope you don't mind - I couldn't sleep and I fancied having another look over those artefacts from yesterday."

"Be my guest" Daniel replied returning the smile and putting down the cylinder and his notebooks before pulling up a chair beside her. "You found them after all".

Sam grinned back at him and carefully pulled the cylinder over for a closer look. Under the bright lights of the lab she could easily see that there were many more rows of symbols that she had origially noticed. Tracing the lines with her finger she noted that Daniel had carefully cleaned the artefact revealing the quality of the craftsmanship. This was definitely no trinket! The precise engraving of the tiny symbols upon the hard metal would have required technical milling equipment. She looked across at Daniel's notebook with its neatly transcribed rows of symbols and asked "so, have you got this thing figured out yet?"

"Not fully" Daniel admitted, glancing up from the small figurine he had been studying "but I have some theories. I'm working on the assumption that the symbols are an obscure dialect of ancient. See here?" He pointed and Sam squinted at the minute script trying to identify the symbols that she knew. She thought for a moment and then steepling her arms decisively on the table countered "But that wouldn't make any sense. From what I understand, dialects develop in relatively isolated communities. PX8-112 planet had a functioning stargate".

"Perhaps they chose not to use it" suggested Daniel "or were prevented by something from using it."

Sam frowned, considering "hard to imagine what could prevent the _**ancients**_ from doing anything" she mused "and I don't see why they would voluntarily choose not to use it if they had the option." She thought for a moment "besides, the city remains had a distinctly non-ancient feel to them. No advanced technology, built of stone." Nothing in the city had looked like it was built by the people who built the stargates. In earth terms, the ruins had a medieval feel to them.

Daniel rubbed his brow thoughtfully. "What about the people?" he asked.

"Primitive, tribal" Sam replied "Agrarian rather than hunter gatherer." She paused. "Not that we got a lot of chance to talk to them really."

Daniel frowned in frustration. If he had been there, talking to the natives would have definitely been on the cards. Not talking to the people seemed to be both foolish and a waste. "So what exactly happened?" he asked intreigued "Jack said you blew him up". He looked quizzically at his friend.

"Sort of" said Sam sheepishly, thinking back to that moment of hiding behind the wall whilst debris rained down. She described to Daniel what had happened. "It's a good thing I did though, or I wouldn't have found this" she gestured at the cylinder. "It was stowed behind the wall in an old disintegrating box. I only found it because I nearly fell on it."

Daniel chuckled and then regretted it and unconsciously placed his hand on his stomach with a wince. Sam noticed.

"Are you ok?" she asked sympathetically.

Daniel hastily removed his hand "I'm fine, it's just a stomach ache."

"Even so," Sam insisted "if you are still feeling bad you should go and see Janet."

"No" said Daniel firmly.

"Have you eaten?" Sam persisted. Daniel gave her a warning look and changed the subject. Sam decided to let it go – for now.

"I think I have translated some of the text". He fished out his notebook from the night before. "But so many of the symbols are altered that I can't be sure that I have got it right. They syntax is weird too." He pointed at the first line of writing. "I think it starts here and this seems to say that 'the something – maybe 'lightening hammer' is an object of great power to be used by the – I've no idea what that word is – against the"

"Go on" said Sam expectantly. "Against the what?"

"I've no idea" said Daniel. "That symbol is nothing like any I have seen before. It looks a bit like a spider or a scorpion – but I don't know if that is significant." The script of the Ancients made very little use of pictograms, but cultural syncretism obviously could have imported symbols from other writing systems. The problem was, he wasn't really sure where to start. So many languages, so many possibilities. Talking to the people of PX8-112 could really have helped narrow down the search.

Sam ran her fingers thoughtfully over the text "so the, what did you call it? 'lightening hammer' is this?"

Daniel shrugged again. "Maybe, probably, seems to make sense".

"Thor's hammer?" Sam suggested.

Daniel pulled a face. "I don't think so, I'm pretty sure that symbol means lightening – I'm less sure about the hammer part. It might be something like Thor's hammer. But it doesn't seem to be for use against the Gould."

"How can you be so sure?" Sam asked. "Couldn't the spider symbol could be a dialect word for Gould".

"It could" Daniel agreed with a nod, "but that would mean that they have two different words for Gould. This symbol over here" he pointed with the corner of the notebook at the artefact "definitely means Gould. I'm inclined to think that the spider thing is something different."

"A new enemy…" Sam said slowly contemplating the cylinder pensively. "One we haven't met yet?"

"Who's made a new enemy?" asked Jack suddenly from the doorway "Daniel, what have you been doing?"

Sam straightened up and greeted him warmly "Hello sir, Daniel's been decoding the writing on the cylinder."

"And found a new enemy?" Jack repeated as he strode into the room. "What have I told you about doing that?"

"Not exactly **found**" Daniel corrected "more inferred the possible existence of". Jack gave him a look.

Sam butted in "You see sir, the cylinder might actually be a weapon after all. Daniel thinks that the inscription might say something about it being an object of great power."

"So the million dollar question: Do we know how to use it?" Jack asked, cutting to the chase.

"No" admitted Sam.

"Well actually" Daniel interjected, "I hadn't got to that part yet". Sam turned to look at him in surprise and Jack raised his eyebrows in a gesture which said 'go on…'. Daniel leaned over, pulled the object closer and turned it carefully on its side. "Under here" he explained "is a catch" he fiddled with it with a frown of concentration on his face "I think that all we have to do is release the switch and..."

"Daniel…" said Jack in warning tones.

Daniel looked up confused and then smiled as realisation dawned "Oh don't worry, it won't go off unless it is charged and I have no intention of charging it first." He fiddled about for a moment more. "Got it!" he said and there was a flash and all the lights went off.


	5. Chapter 5

For a moment nobody spoke.

"Coincidence?" asked Sam.

"If we're dimension surfing again, someone is going to have some explaining to do." said Jack pointedly, adding "and they'd better not be any giant aliens around".

Sam fumbled around her. "Feels like the lab still". She found her computer and tapped the keyboard. "Looks like the electrics are fried though. Even the emergency lighting hasn't come on."

Daniel fumbled around in the dark. "I've got candles somewhere" he explained. Just a minute…

"Of course you have" Jack said, amused "High-tech base, back-up generators, priority power and you've got candles."

"It never hurts to be prepared!" Daniel snapped back. "Do you want me to light one or would you rather sit in the dark and wait for the high-tech back up procedures to do their job?" He felt tired and achy and wasn't in the mood for teasing.

Jack noticed the edge in his voice and conceded with dignity. "Point taken. Well done chief scout Daniel."

"Well, this is cosy" said Sam when the candles were lit and they could once again see each other "I suppose it _**was**_ the cylinder that did that".

"Lightening hammer" said Daniel thoughtfully, "The question is was it supposed to do that or was that a malfunction?" He squinted at the symbols hoping for a clue but it was impossible to decipher any of them by the light of a couple of candles.

Jack snorted. "Next time I want to battle the lighting I'll give you a call"

"We don't know what else it does" Daniel pointed out "Taking out the electrics might be a side effect."

"Or maybe that is the point. It could be of use against certain technologies" said Sam thoughtfully "if it somehow disrupts the signal or short circuits everything then it could be a very good way of disarming your enemy."

"And yourself!" Jack pointed out.

Sam shook her head "Not necessarily" she countered. "I bet basic ballistics weapons are not affected. The artefact seemed to take out all the electrical things. Your average hand weapons would be functional."

"Provided the person holding it didn't have a pace maker" Jack commented.

"That's true" Sam nodded and then sat up a little straighter "Oh God the infirmary!" she said "I…"

At that moment the lights flickered and came back on and the computers whirred back into life with angry error messages.

"See" said Jack "back-up power!"

"Good" said Sam with relief. She got up and blew out the candle, spattering what little wax had melted onto the table. "I'm going up to check with Janet that everyone is ok and then go the gateroom to see if they registered anything." She said. "It's possible that they might have noticed some anomalous readings before everything shut down." She turned to Daniel "I'll send you the photos I took of PX8-112 as soon as I've had a chance to check the systems. You might be able to find some more information about who the inhabitants of the city were."

"Thanks Sam". Daniel smiled. "I – um, please tell General Hammond I'm sorry for the … the disruption!"

"Will do." Sam grabbed her laptop and hurried out of the door.

"See you." Jack waved her off but made no move to leave. He slipped off his chair and leant against the table next to Daniel who made a pretence of transcribing more symbols.

"Daniel?"

"What?" Daniel tetched roughly. His stomach ache was worsening again and he wanted to either take some more Tylenol or curl up for a bit; preferably both. He knew that Jack was looking at him with irritating insight and he didn't have the energy to keep up the charade.

"You still look crap"

Daniel paused, waiting for a current spasm to dissipate before answering. Giving in he said resignedly "Ok, your right. But I'm not going to feel any less rough by mooching around doing nothing."

Having got him to admit it, Jack now felt momentarily guilty for demolishing the façade that Daniel had been working hard to maintain. Daniel turned back to his note-taking, but Jack noticed that his left arm cradled his stomach. From the way he was squinting in the light Jack would lay good odds that his head was aching too. He watched Daniel intently as he scribbled, paused, squinted at the artefact and scribbled some more.

Eventually Daniel put the pen down and looked up at Jack with a sigh. It appeared Jack had no intention of leaving without further explanation. Yet again Daniel felt the mix of appreciation and irritation: The concern was touching, but displays of it were frustrating.

"Look, I have to be at the the Tok'Ra meeting this afternoon." He explained, "If I don't feel better after that then I will go to the infirmary. Deal?"

"Deal" Jack agreed reluctantly. Accepting what was probably the best terms he was going to be offered.

"Now stop bugging me" Daniel retorted.

Jack stood up and made to leave. He paused at the door, one hand on the doorframe.

"Daniel?"

"Mmm?"

"Good job with the translation."


	6. Chapter 6

Daniel was really, really regretting not going to see Janet earlier. The cramps had intensified since the morning and they were now accompanied by a white hot stabbing pain that meant he was having difficulty sitting still. He felt very nauseous and he was pretty sure he had a fever. Moreover, he had a niggling suspicion that he now knew what was wrong. The knife-stab feeling bored low into his right side and that - Daniel knew - was pretty much where his appendix was. Even stubborn Daniel realised that one wasn't going to go away on its own.

Sam was equally very well aware that Daniel was definitely not fine. That had been immediately apparent from the moment he arrived, hugging his folders tightly, late and clearly unable to hurry. His face looked pinched and faint pain-lines wrinkled at the corners of his eyes. General Hammond, already in the middle of setting out the agenda, barely looked up as he motioned for Daniel to sit down quickly. He was used to Daniel losing track of time and he had little patience for tardiness. Daniel had eased himself into the chair next to Sam and shut his eyes for a moment against a wave of nausea. With the meeting in full swing Sam employed the time-honoured meeting-speak of eyebrow wiggles.

A slight frown and a tilt of the head asked 'are you ok?'

A small nod in reply.

Another frown and a rueful mouth twitch conveyed the fact that Sam was not convinced.

A slight shrug from Daniel conceded that she was right.

'Stomach hurting?' Sam mouthed.

Daniel nodded imperceptibly.

'Badly?' Sam mouthed back.

Daniel hesitated and deciding he could do with the moral support nodded again.

Sam gave his knee a gentle squeeze which said nothing in particular but seemed necessary.

A ghost of a smile from Daniel conveyed both 'thanks' and 'I'll cope'.

The meeting was in full swing and now that he had made it here Daniel was determined to see it through. He had things to contribute, he did not want to interrupt the delicate negotiations by leaving and he particularly did not want to make a scene in General Hammond's office. All he had to do was get to the end of the hour without fainting, throwing up or dying. Surreptitiously he wrapped his arms around his middle and hunched down in the chair concentrating on breathing. Every now and again Sam cast him a worried look which he ignored and he had the distinct feeling that if he looked up he would see Jack's eyes focussed intently upon him, reading every little twitch.

Jack and Teal'c were seated at the other end of the table, out of range for contributing to the eyebrow interrogation but well-able to get the gist of it. Jack wished he were closer so that he could ask Daniel what the hell he thought he was doing coming to the meeting in that state. Even at a distance Jack could see how pale he was and the light sheen of perspiration across his brow hinted at a temperature. Not for the first time Jack felt irritated that a member of his team had clearly been holding out on him. The fact that he was also worried about his friend made the irritation worse. 'Damn it Daniel' Jack thought to himself. 'You don't need to be here.'

With difficulty Jack dragged his attention away from Daniel and back to the meeting. Selmek was in the middle of outlining the Tok'ra proposal. They had gained access to new cloaking technology and were willing not only to make it available to the SGC but also to assist in making it compatible with the already existent technologies. In return they wanted help acquiring naquida - and a few new potential hosts.

"Do not imagine" Selmek was saying "that there would not be many on your planet who would welcome the chance for life - and life without illness – in return for cohabitation of a body."

"Nope!" Jack muttered under his breath "I'll take death over becoming a snake head any day".

The General, whose hearing was rather better than Jack wanted it to be, shot him a warning look, which Jack returned with his best 'what me?' expression and an insolent cock of the head. Negotiation, tact and diplomacy were not skills listed highly on Jack's CV. On the other side of the room Daniel found himself thinking that the benefit of a symbiot with all its healing powers was suddenly a far more attractive proposition than he had ever found it before. Perhaps Selmek had a point; A new perspective brought new insights. He mentally filed the realisation away for future mulling.

"Major Carter, what do you think of the Tok'ra's proposition. Is the technology of sufficient value?" General Hammond asked Sam.

"I think it is a generous offer sir, but we should not be too hasty to accept it without due consideration." She replied. Gesturing to the files she continued "I've looked over the brief in detail and I can see there are quite a number of technical problems that we would need to solve before we would ever be able to think of benefitting from it. Not to mention…" She heard Daniel catch his breath stifling a groan and lost her train of thought. "Not to mention…I err… I think that we really ought to…" She glanced sideways and saw Daniel breathing rapidly, ashen faced. "Um…" She looked around the table "I err, I think that Daniel Jackson needs to be taken to the infirmary sir."

"Exactly what I was about to say Carter" interjected Jack leaping up from his side of the table and striding round to Daniel.

Daniel did his best to combine gratitude and betrayal into one expression to fire at Sam and failed.

General Hammond looked momentarily bemused and looked quickly from Jack to Sam, back to the assembled Tok'ra and then finally to Daniel. "Daniel?"

"Might be a plan… not feeling too hot" Daniel mumbled. He stood up clumsily and in doing so released the pressure on his side. The sudden intensification of pain made him gasp as spots danced before his eyes and he would have fallen over if Jack had not been ready to catch him. "Easy" Jack said, holding him steady.

"Gentlemen" said General Hammond to the Tok'ra "I regret that the situation demands that we must adjourn the meeting".

"No need" said Daniel between clenched teeth "carry on without me".

Selmek rose "if there is anything we can do to assist…"

Jack bestowed him with a glare and then extended it to all the assembled Tok'ra. "He's fine" he said belligerently. "Just peachy. Gotta snake allergy that's all."

"Jack" interjected Daniel weakly "Don't."

"Major Carter, page Dr Fraiser and tell her to send a gurney." Hammond instructed.

"No" Daniel said firmly, determined not to face the indignity of being stretchered out of the office. "I can manage."


	7. Chapter 7

Daniel lay curled up on the infirmary bed, one arm up across his eyes, blocking out the world, the other guarding his stomach, fidgeting miserably. Janet bustled over and laid a hand gently on his arm.

"Daniel" she said quietly,

"Heya" Daniel replied weakly, arm still over his eyes.

"How do you feel?" Janet asked gently.

"Like crap" Daniel admitted.

"Anything besides the stomach pain?" Janet asked as she eased his arm down from his face.

Daniel blinked in the light "Headache, sick, shivery, a bit shaky".

Janet felt his forehead. "You are definitely feverish" she confirmed. "Turn your head please". The thermometer in his ear only took a few seconds to register his temperature. "101" Janet read out making a quick note. She took his wrist, and felt the quickened rate of his pulse. "Hmm" she said with a frown. "So, let's talk about the pain. Have you taken anything for it?" Daniel nodded weakly. "What did you take?" Janet continued.

"Tylenol" Daniel said "Every couple of hours".

"Did it help?"

"A bit – not much" Daniel replied groaning slightly, rolling over as the pain intensified again.

Janet crouched down by the bed so that she and Daniel were at eye level and put her hand sympathetically on his shoulder. "On a scale of 1-10 how bad is it?" she asked.

"Umm, 5 or 6" he suggested, his voice catching. Janet frowned but wrote the figures down adding (8?) beside them.

"Can you describe it, sharp, dull, burning, squeezing?"

Daniel paused, eyes closed, waiting until he trusted himself to speak without retching or groaning. "Sharp, burning now, was just general achiness and cramps." He opened his eyes and looked at Janet "right-side, worse when pressure is released – it's appendicitis isn't it?"

Janet nodded with a rueful smile. "Quite probably – can you turn on to your back please so I can take a look?" She helped him over. Lying on his back made the pain instantly worse and Daniel let out a shaky breath, shutting his eyes tightly against the prickle of tears. He tried not to wince in anticipation as Janet hitch up his T shirt. She carefully poked and prodded him, noting the heat and rigidity.

"Are you going to do the rebound test?" He asked unsteadily.

"No" Janet said patting his arm and easing his T shirt gently back down. "Not since you've already told me it hurts worse when you release the pressure. I do need to ultrasound you though - just to make sure."

Daniel nodded weakly; "Thanks" he said, forcing a smile. "Wasn't looking forward to that". He gave a sharp intake of breath as he bit back another groan.

"First" Janet said decisively "let's get you some morphine."

Janet allowed the drug time to kick in before getting out the ultrasound. Once Daniel was able to uncurl and lie reasonably still without constantly shifting she lifted up his T shirt exposing his bare skin and eased the waist band of his boxer shorts slightly lower.

She placed her hand on top of Daniel's and shook him slightly to get his attention. "Ok, Daniel" she warned, "you are going to feel cold gel first and then I'm afraid there will be more prodding. The morphine will take the edge off but it will be uncomfortable. Ready?"

"Uh-huh" grunted Daniel from his druggy haze. As she pushed the scanner over the epicentre of the pain he registered it, but in a strangely far-off way. "Yup" he slurred "Definitely uncomfor'ble". As gently as she could, Janet eased the scanner off his stomach. Daniel yelped and tried to curl up as the sudden stab pierced through the drug's defences.

"Sorry Danny" Janet said squeezing his shoulder "no more poking now, all done." She put the machine away and went round to the pillow end of the bed. "Are you with it enough to listen?" Daniel nodded but the movement was difficult and his muscles felt clumsy.

"Right, it is definitely your appendix and I will scold you later for toughing it out and not coming back earlier!" She gave him a sympathetic frown and patted his hand. "You must have been feeling pretty awful for hours and you've missed your chance to try the antibiotic route. It needs to come out and sooner rather than later. Have you eaten anything today?"

Daniel shook his head. He hadn't really eaten much yesterday either. He hadn't trusted anything to stay put.

"Drunk much in the last four hours?"

Again he shook his head.

"Good!" said Janet. Then we can start right away.


	8. Chapter 8

Daniel woke up feeling sick from the anaesthetic. His throat was sore, presumably from something having been stuck down it and his head ached. He felt crap – but not as crap as before. The sharp knife like pain was gone, although moving pulled at the wound – that hurt. Overall, Daniel decided that this was a definite improvement. He was no longer fantasying about sarcophagi or symbiots!

"You're awake at last" said Janet softly from the corner of the room. "You took your time – obviously you needed your sleep."

"Didn't sleep well last night" Daniel muttered.

"I bet you didn't!" Janet responded emphatically, moving over to his side. "Your appendix was on the point of perforating. We caught it just in time."

Daniel looked sheepish. "Sorry" he said without making eye-contact.

He looked very very pale and Janet decided that now was not the time for any more pointed comments. "So, how are you feeling?" she asked sympathetically.

"Fine" Daniel replied but he knew that Janet didn't buy it. "By comparison" he clarified.

"And…" Janet encouraged. Daniel sighed.

"Headache, sore throat, sick."

Janet nodded "That's usual after anaesthetic. How's the stomach?"

Daniel considered and moved cautiously. "A bit sore" he admitted "when I move".

"You'll be on strong painkillers for a bit" Janet said adjusting the morphine drip slightly. "And you are to tell me IMMEDIATELY if you need more." Daniel nodded. "You'll probably have a bit of a residual tummy ache for the next week or so from all the poking around, but any serious pain could indicate infection."

Daniel nodded "Ok – I'll be good".

"Being good also entails no saving earth from hostile forces" Janet emphasised. "Any world-saving will have to be done by others ok?" "Now," she said as she offered him a drink of water "are you up for any visitors?"

"Yeah" Daniel agreed. As Janet turned to go he caught hold of her hand and held her back. "Thank you."


End file.
